Inside the pants holster

ABSTRACT

A holster which is adapted to be worn inside the pants, just behind the hip of the wearer and which has a relatively wide flange extending in the plane of the handgun to be carried and molded to the hip of the wearer to stabilize the holster.

United States Patent Paris Theodore New York. N.Y. 788,723

Jan. 3, i969 June 8, 1971 Seventrees, Ltd. New York, N.Y.

inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee INSIDE TIIE PANTS HOLSTER 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl. Int. CI. Field of Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,292 l2/l884 Browne 1,191,339 7/l9l6 Noye He Hides Guns for Cops" by Lucian Cary pages 42, 43, 70 & 7l ln the October, i955 issue of True" Magazine Fawcett Publication copy in group 314 class 224/2.2

Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Frank E. Werner Attorney- Darby & Darby ABSTRACT: A holster which is adapted to be worn inside the pants, just behind the hip of the wearer and which has a relatively wide ilange extending in the plane of the handgun to be carried and molded to the hip of the wearer to stabilize the holster.

PATENTE!) Jun 8 |911 FIG. 3

INVENTOR PARI T ATTOR FIG. 2

HEODORE NEYS INSIDE THE PANTS HOLSTER This invention relates generally to holsters for hand guns and, more particularly, to holsters of the type which are concealed beneath the clothing of the wearer. Such holsters are commonly used by plainclothes police officers or other persons whose duties require that they be armed, but that their weapons be concealed in order to avoid an undesirable show of force.

A number of different types of holsters are available for undercover use including various types of shoulder holsters, cross-draw type belt holsters and the conventional inside the pants cross-draw holster. However, many men fmd the crossdraw movement awkward and prefer a straight-draw holster worn on the right-hand side of the body in the case of a righthanded man. One type of straight-draw undercover holster is mounted on the belt of the wearer and rides high over his right hip. While this type of high-riding hip holster provides reasonably convenient and fast access to the weapon, it is somewhat bulky and difficult to conceal.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an im proved undercover holster.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a straightdraw holster which is readily concealable beneath the clothing of the wearer.

It is another object of this invention to provide an undercover holster which holds a handgun in a stable and secure manner.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an undercover holster which is comfortable to wear.

According to the above and other objects the present invention provides a holster having a scabbard portion for receiving the barrel of the handgun to be carried and a relatively wide flange portion extending from the scabbard portion in the plane of the handgun. The holster is worn inside the pants just behind the hip of the wearer and the flange portion is molded to the hip of the wearer so as to stabilize the holster and provide a comfortable fit.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth the principle of the invention and, by way of illustration, the best mode contemplated of carrying out that principle.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a view of the holster of the present invention, shown as it is worn in the preferred location behind the hip of the wearer;

FIG. 2 is a detailed side elevational view of the holster shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. l of the drawings there is shown a man l wearing a holster generally designated 2 according to the present invention. The holster 2 is worn inside the pants 3 of man l in the preferred position close behind the right hip 4 of man 1 who is, in this case, right handed for purposes of illustration. It will be appreciated, however, that the holster 2 of the present invention may be worn in other positions. For ex ample, the holster 2 may be worn closer to the middle of the back of man l, or it may be worn on the left-hand front side of the man l in the position of a conventional inside the pants cross-draw holster.

In the position shown in FIG. l however, the holster 2 holds the handgun generally designated 5 so that its handgrip 6 is readily accessible to the right hand 7 of man l. The handgun 5 also lies close in to the natural hollow between the hip 4 and back 8 of man I so that the holster 2 and handgun 5 may readily be concealed beneath a jacket or the like wom by man l.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is shown a detailed side elevational view of the holster 2 shown in FIG. I. The holster 2 includes a scabbard portion 12 for receiving and holding the barrel portion ll of the handgun 2. A flange portion 13 of holster 2 extends outwardly from the scabbard portion 12 in the plane of the handgun 5. In the preferred fonn of holster shown in FIG. 2 the flange portion I3 extends outwardly both to the right from the sight line enclosing region of scabbard portion 12 as at 13a and to the left from the trigger guard enclosing region of scabbard portion 12 as at 13b. lt will be appreciated however that the flange portion 13 need not extend outwardly from both sides of scabbard portion 12, but may extend outwardly from one side only of scabbard portion 12. It has been found that the flange portion 13 of holster 2 should have an area approximately twice that of scabbard portion I2 in order to properly stabilize the holster 2 and prevent it from rotating in the plane of handgun 5 in accordance with the present invention. L

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the holster 2 is provided with a belt loop 15 extending from one side of the opening in scabbard portion 12. The belt loop 15 folds down over the waistband of the pants of the wearer and encloses the belt 16 so as to prevent the holster 2 from moving upward or downward. As previously stated, the flange portion 13 prevents the holster 2 from rotating in the plane of handgun 5.

In the preferred form of holster shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the belt loop I5 comprises a strap 17 extending from one side of the opening in scabbard portion l2 and a pair of snap fasteners 18 and I9. As shown in FIG. 3, one part 18a of snap fastener I8 is mounted at the base of the strap l7 and the other part 18h is mounted at the end of strap 17 so that the complementary parts join to form strap 17 into a loop l5 enclosing belt 16. The complementary parts of snap fastener 19 are disposed in a similar manner. This preferred construction of belt loop 15 facilitates engagement and disengagement of the holster 2 with belt I6.

As further shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the holster 2 is provided with a pair of straps 2l and 22 extending upwardly from opposite sides of the openings of scabbard portion l2. The strap 2l has a full contour in order to protect the clothing of the wearer from oil which may be present on handgun 5 and to prevent handgun 5 from snagging the clothing as it is withdrawn for use. A snap fastener 23 having one part 23a mounted adjacent the end of strap 21 and the other part 23b mounted adjacent the end of strap 22 is provided to join straps 21 and 22 snugly around the rearward end of handgun 5 adjacent its hammer 24 so as to releasably retain the handgun 5 within the scabbard portion 12 of holster 2. The snap fastener 23 is designed to pop open when the handgun S is withdrawn from holster 2.

The snap fasteners I8, 19 and 23 may be of a conventional type such as the commercially available Dot" fastener made by the Can Fastener Company of New York, N.Y.

The holster 2 shown in FIGS. l-4 is preferably made of two pieces of leather of 5 oz. to 7 oz. weight or a single piece folded over and stitched around its periphery as by stitches 27. Further stitches 28 form the outline of scabbard portion l2. The scabbard portion 12 is preferably formed by wetting the leather, inserting a handgun of the same type as the one with which the holster is to be used, molding the wet leather to the handgun and then allowing it to dry. The flange portion 13 is formed into the proper compound curved shape simply by having the user wear it over a period of time. This process may be speeded up by wetting the leather of flange portion 13.

While the principles of the present invention have been illustrated by reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications and adaptations of the holster of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1. An nside-thepants holster for carrying a handgun over the hip area of the wearer, said holster comprising:

a scabbard portion for receiving the barrel of the handgun to be carried; a belt loop extending from the outer side of the opening of said scabbard portion and foldable downward to engage the belt of the wearer; and

a flange portion extending from the portion of said scabbard nearest the barrel of the handgun to be carried toward the front of the body of the wearer, said flange portion being curved to fit the hip of the wearer and having an area approximately twice that of said scabbard portion, said scabbard portion and said flange portion being arranged to carry said handgun so that the barrel of said handgun lies at an angle from 45 to 70 to the belt of the wearer.

2. The holster of claim l wherein said belt loop comprises a strap extending from one side of the opening of said scabbard portion and a releasable fastening device having two parts, one part of said releasable fastening device being mounted on the base of said strap adjacent said scabbard portion and the other part of said releasable fastening device being mounted strap and the other part of said releasable fastening device being mounted adjacent the end of said second strap. 

1. An inside-the-pants holster for carrying a handgun over the hip area of the wearer, said holster comprising: a scabbard portion for receiving the barrel of the handgun to be carried; a belt loop extending from the outer side of the opening of said scabbard portion and foldable downward to engage the belt of the wearer; and a flange portion extending from the portion of said scabbard nearest the barrel of the handgun to be carried toward the front of the body of the wearer, said flange portion being curved to fit the hip of the wearer and having an area approximately twice that of said scabbard portion, said scabbard portion and said flange portion being arranged to carry said handgun so that the barrel of said handgun lies at an angle from 45* to 70* to the belt of the wearer.
 2. The holster of claim 1 wherein said belt loop comprises a strap extending from one side of the opening of said scabbard portion and a releasable fastening device having two parts, one part of said releasable fastening device being mounted on the base of said strap adjacent said scabbard portion and the other part of said releasable fastening device being mounted on the end of said strap.
 3. The holster of claim 1 further comprising releasable retaining means engaging the rearward portion of the handgun to be carried to retain the handgun in said scabbard portion.
 4. The holster of claim 3 wherein said releasable retaining means comprises a first strap extending from one side of the opening of said scabbard portion, a second strap extending from the other side of said scabbard portion, and a releasable fastening device having two parts, one part of said releasable fastening device being mounted adjacent the end of said first strap and the other part of said releasable fastening device being mounted adjacent the end of said second strap. 